Thursday, September 11, 2008

Because whoever you were... I'm sending all the monsters my son thinks are in his room to YOUR house and see how you like it.

S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!!! Three year olds shouldn't even know that word or that it has a meaning!

Sigh.

Something ELSE I have to deal with... and that not only includes erasing the thought that there are monsters in his room from his tiny (although genius) brain, but re-training him to sleep in his own room... AGAIN... including staying in his own bed and not crawling to the door and sleeping on the floor close to mommy and daddy's room, or crawling into our bed in the middle of the night. It also includes falling asleep at bed time (in his own bed) instead of having mommy or daddy stay in the room until he can't hold his eyes open anymore.

12 comments:

First, I love the new look of your blog, dear friend. Hunter's expression is timeless!

Here's an idea for the whole monster thing: When our girls had huge fears over monsters, my DP or I would blow the monsters out of the room with a big wind. It felt silly every night blowing great gusts of air from my mouth into every corner of their room, but it worked!

Praying this phase will soon pass for you and for precious Hunter. Unreasonable fears are tough, but so real in the mind of a three-year-old.

Wouldn't DARE be the one who told Hunter that but a possible idea that someone gave me...depending on what you've told him so far, get a spray bottle of water perhaps with a scent he likes and (ta da) monster spray! You spray it in his room before bedtime and it keeps the monsters away.

Another thought: Flicka and I would not only make a long list of happy things for her to dream about ("So what are you going to dream about tonight?") but we also prayed over her and with her for God's protection.

What a horrible thing for the little guy to deal with. We have a number a "little" issue we deal with. They have usually been directly connected to a insecurity feeling in their lives. Lots and lots of prayer!

I've been praying for you! It is not easy, this stage of a child's life. Where there is a fine line between genuine fear and manipulation. Been there for awhile, now.

David asked me today if there were really well-behaved boys in the church. I could only think of 2 and they are both under two-years-old (for a couple weeks, anyway). I think it's the 3-5's that cause momma the most problem. A glimpse into teen years, perhaps?

When I read your post I thought of two answers. One, remind him that God is bigger than the monsters (Veggie Tales, Where's God When I'm Scared).

On a more tangible level, I second the idea about using "Monster Spray" to chase the monsters away. Just a little spritzer bottle with a few drops of essential oil sprayed on the pillow or under the bed, or in the closet... etc etc etc. :)

We went through this with our 3 year old. (Not the monsters, but the teaching him to sleep on his own, yet again & not screaming when we leave). It was a long process, but I'd be happy to share it with you if you're interested.

Ok, I am with you on the sleep thing....right there in the trenches (but times 2)! We have successfully weaned them of the "staying in the hallway until they are completely asleep", but the staying in bed all night is a continued struggle for both of my older 2 kids....I'm determined to have another intervention, soon.

If you're interested, a couple months ago I posted about our bedtime routine to get them to go to sleep on their own. I think it took about 9 nights, but I can honestly say that it has stuck. Bed time is sooo much more pleasant now! No screaming!!!

If you look under "July" in my Blog Archive, you will find the posts about it. They are titled "A Lesson In Patience".

It is awful! My three year old has scary dreams. We have taught him that Jesus will protect him, and we pray for all the scary stuff to go away every night, and every nap time. We taught him Psalm 56:3. It has been a long road though, in fact, he woke up crying in the middle of the night last night scared. And there was a strecth where he slept on our floor in our room every night. It has gotten better though. I am praying for you and your son that it will get better for y'all too!